Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken
A romanticized, true story about diving girl Sonora Webster Carver starring a young Gabrielle Anwar and Michael Schoeffling (who is known forever as Jake Ryan from Sixteen Candles). Sonora leaves her aunt’s home in hopes of fame, soon committing all she has to star as one of Doc Carver’s diving girls. She becomes the star of the show, wins the heart of Doc’s son Al, and overcomes a horrible accident that leaves her permanently blind. It’s the cheesiest of romances and uses the “I wrote you letters that were hidden from you” bit long before The Notebook.

Hidalgo
A film about horses starring Viggo Mortenson? You can’t go wrong there. He plays Frank Hopkins, a long distance rider, who enters the Ocean of Fire horserace with his mustang Hidalgo. He must race the 3,000 miles across the desert against the best pure-bred Arabians in the world. He, like his horse, is a half-breed, sharing part of himself with the Native American Lakota tribe. The two defeat all the odds and win, escaping murder attempts and even saving a damsel in distress. Hidalgo is an underdog story of epic proportions, not only overcoming an impossible race but forthcoming extinction of the mustang breed.

Secretariat
No one makes an underdog sports film like Disney. Secretariat ranks equal with Miracle and Remember the Titans. Diane Lane plays Penny Chenery who takes over her late father’s stable and takes a chance on a little red horse. With the help of Lucien Laurin, played marvelously by John Malkovich, she transforms Secretariat into the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years. It has all the cheesy morals you’d want about not listening to the negative comments of others and how persistence pays. But the greatest feat this film accomplishes is making the race scenes, about which we already know the outcome, feel as tense and exciting as if we were watching them for the first time.

The Black Stallion
Forever engrained in my mind, from the many childhood viewings of this film, is the scene where Alec feeds sugar cubes to the horse on the boat. It is the first of several touching “boy and his horse” scenes. As we’ve learned from the finale of LOST and the strange relationship between Chuck and Wilson in Castaway, being deserted together on a remote island creates a bond unbroken. Alec tames the wild horse, ultimately racing him to victory. I credit The Black Stallion with forging and supporting my early love for horses.

My Little Pony: The Movie
Every little girl of the 80s had to have loved My Little Pony. Their first feature film follows the ponies as they fight for their lives against the wicked witch Hydia and her two horrible daughters Reeka and Draggle. The witches create Smooze, a flowing, singing purple ooze that engulfs anything in its path. With the help of a few human kids and the magical wing-flapping Flutter Ponies, they are able to reclaim their peaceful home. I don’t know about you, but I can’t think of anything better than colorful, singing, magical ponies fighting evil and winning.

The containers are only $4.99 and perfectly fit the size of meal I prefer. I bought two, one for my small lunch and one for my afternoon snack. I’m sure it wouldn’t give many people much joy, but it really excites me to see my lunch in organized little compartments. It’s the little things I guess. And, truthfully, anything to make my lunch-bringing more consistent is great in my book.

1. Drink more water.
I’m a compulsive diet soda drinker. When I get stressed it’s even worse. I will drink more water during the day and order water at restaurants when I go out. As an added bonus, I’ll save the $2.50 I spend each time.

2. Replace soda with tea.
Even though I’m culturally Chinese and I grew up with parents who love tea, I never found a taste for it. I will stop drinking soda and replace my flavored drink cravings with tea, hot or iced. Not only will I benefit from the health-boosting aspects of tea, I’ll also be able to use the Tour Eiffel teapot and monogrammed mug I received for Christmas.

3. Take the stairs.
Finding a good exercise routine will be a challenge. Clay and I have talked about hiking, biking, and even running (yuck). When I’m not in exercise mode though, I will no longer go out of my way to be lazy. I will take the stairs instead of the escalator and walk across the parking lot instead of desperately trying to find a closer spot.

4. Feel healthier this Christmas than I did the last.
It’s easy to set resolutions and to get going on them. Clay and I have already bought healthy groceries and picked out some green teas to try. In a few months, I could easily be back to my old ways again. I will remember all year how I feel today and I will feel great this December too.

We all stayed in a vacation rental in La Jolla with plenty of vintage charm. We especially had fun with the croquet set in the backyard.

On Saturday we went for a hike in Torrey Pines. The weather was absolutely perfect. While we didn’t make it into the ocean, we did get to feel plenty of ocean breeze.

Later that day, we headed to Point Loma to take some family photos. The fog was so thick we could barely see in front of us as we drove. Even though the weather wasn’t great, I’m sure the photos will be.

On Sunday we took a brunch cruise around San Diego Bay. We enjoyed tasty treats, champagne, and the beautiful shorelines of San Diego and Coronado Island. Two of my favorite sights were some sea lions lounging and the California, a Dutch clipper that gives tours of the Bay.

The trip was so much fun and it was great to see Clay’s family again. We all agreed San Diego was much better than Tahoe, where we spent New Year’s Eve last year. The weather was much nicer and the activities easier to get to. We’ll definitely have to make it out there this summer so we can hit the beach.

The village was inhabited by Chinese shrimp fishermen during the 1800s. The village thrived until the early 1900s when bag nets were banned and, soon after, the export of dried shrimp was also banned. The village, now consisting of only a few buildings, a shrimp oven, and a boating dock, is quaint and feels like walking into another time. The drive there was beautiful, winding through swamplands, tree-lined hills, and a consistent view of the ocean. I’m so glad we were able to make it out to see it.

Christmas in Minnesota circa 1988